US east coast on hurricane alert

Tropical storm-force winds from Hurricane Irene have begun lashing the US east coast with rain, with the potential to cause billions of dollars in damageAt least 65 million people could be affected along a densely populated arc that includes Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.A hurricane warning is in effect from North Carolina all the way to Massachusetts - including for New...

Hundreds, possibly thousands of celebrities have had their names permanently banned from the new .xxx adults-only internet domain.

El Reg can reveal that everyone from Justin Bieber to Piers Morgan has had their .xxx address placed into a permanent "reserved" status by the registry manager, ICM Registry.This means that cybersquatters or crafty porn webmasters will not be able to register domains such as Beyonce.xxx or BritneySpears.xxx to drive traffic to their sites.It also means that many celebrities will not have to pay to...

Comic Billy Connolly has confessed he used pages of the Bible to make a roll-up cigarette - and joked that he may go to hell as a result.

The 68-year-old star revealed he and old friend Gerry Rafferty - the late chart-topping musician - resorted to the holy book after they ran out of "skins".The pair, friends from their days on the Scottish folk scene, tore out pages from the Book of Revelations to concoct a ciggie in a remote spot.Advertisement >>Connolly made his confession as he launched a forthcoming travel show for ITV1,...

Record numbers of police officers will be on duty across London during the Notting Hill carnival, Scotland Yard has said.

The carnival, which attracts crowds of 1 million people, is taking place this year in "unusual and exceptional" circumstances, said Commander Steve Rodhouse of the Metropolitan police.Rodhouse, the Met's spokesman for the Notting Hill carnival, confirmed that police numbers would be around 16,000 throughout the Bank Holiday weekend across the capital. The Met is continuing to receive help from outside...

Facebook riot invitation sentence 'too lenient

four-month sentence on a man who posted an invitation on Facebook to start a riot has been criticised by a Tory assembly member as too lenient.David Glyn Jones, 21, of Bangor, Gwynedd, was convicted by Caernarfon magistrates after admitting a charge under the Communications Act.At a similar case in Chester two men were each jailed for four years.Clwyd West AM Darren Millar said: "The public will want...

Sham groom only knew fiancee was 'big, black and liked chicken burgers

Mojeed Bello, an illegal immigrant, had arranged to marry Dutch national Carina Merselina at a parish church in Gloucester so that he could continue living in Britain.But the lack of romance between the couple rang alarm bells with Rev Robert Simpson, vicar of St James, Gloucester, when they met him to arrange the ceremony, Gloucester crown court.The vicar was not satisfied that the relationship between...

How can you afford that £8m home, Mandelson

Lord Mandelson is poised to buy an £8 million home after taking up a lucrative post with an investment bank that is advising the Greek government on its financial crisis.The purchase would be the first indication of the multi-million-pound fortune amassed by the former business secretary, who left office last year.While he has made money over the years with shrewd property investments, the source...

Court tells private investigator he must identify 'News of the World' executives who asked him to intercept voicemails

Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the phone-hacking affair, will be forced this week to reveal the identities of the News of the World employees who hired him to intercept the voicemails of public figures.Mulcaire will have to submit to the court the names of the people who engaged him to hack the phones...

Three More Arrests in Murdoch Paper Phone Hacking Scandal

Three more arrests were made in connection with the phone hacking scandal that came to light on July 4, when the Guardian reported that staff from the News of the World tabloid, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, had hacked into the voicemails of a murdered 13-year-old school girl, Milly Dowler. One of the three arrested this week was former News of the World Los Angeles editor James...

Big Brother wasted no time in getting mean last night by telling Kerry Katona she had to act like a diva for a secret task.

Once all the housemates had made their grand entrances, Big Brother ordered one of them to the diary room. Katona volunteered and was given a secret mission to be chosen as the house's biggest diva.Big Brother told her she had to throw a tantrum before returning to the diary room for further instructions.Advertisement >>Katona was told housemates would tomorrow vote on who was the biggest...

Leslie Ash settles with NoW but may sue other papers Actor and her husband, Lee Chapman, understood to have accepted 'healthy six-figure sum' over alleged phone hacking

Leslie Ash and her husband, Lee Chapman, have reached an out-of-court settlement with News International over alleged hacking of their phones by the News of the World, but are now considering legal action against other newspapers.The level of damages paid by News International was undisclosed, although Ash is understood to have received a "healthy six-figure sum", thought to be more than the £100,000...

British man has died in the Seychelles following what locals say was a shark attack.

The Foreign Office confirmed Ian Martin Redmond, from Lancashire, had died in the Indian Ocean archipelago and it was offering assistance to his family.The Daily Telegraph reported the victim was 30 years old and on his honeymoon, but this has not been confirmed.Police said he was killed off Anse Lazio beach, on the island...

Prime Minister, facing unprecedented criticism from the police,

Prime Minister, facing unprecedented criticism from the police, will say he has the strength to “take on and defeat” social problems caused by a weak and “demoralised” state.Mr Cameron will use a speech in his Oxfordshire constituency to underline his personal leadership in dealing with the root causes of last week’s violence.Both police and politicians faced criticism for the slow initial response...

68-year-old man who was critically injured as he tried he tried to stamp out a fire during riots in west London has died

68-year-old man who was critically injured as he tried he tried to stamp out a fire during riots in west London has died, Scotland Yard has said.Richard Mannington Bowes suffered head injuries in a violent attack in Ealing on Monday night and was left in a coma.Police said he was violently assaulted and knocked to the ground.They have issued a CCTV image of a suspect they want to speak to about the...

From an arrest for stealing a charity box to an 11-year-old who admits she threw stones, the roll call of riot accused begins

Although his mother insisted he was sorry, the 12-year-old found guilty of taking a bottle of wine from Sainsbury's during the Manchester riots looked far from contrite. He giggled when asked why he had committed the crime. "He's already been shouted at," interjected his 33-year-old mother.The boy was given a nine-month referral order, which is a non-custodial penalty to be decided by a young offenders...

61-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of phone hacking.

 The man is believed to be former News of the World newsdesk editor Greg Miskiw.Scotland Yard said the man has remained in custody after visiting a London police station by appointment.Channel 4 News filmed Mr Miskiw in Florida just over a fortnight ago saying he would voluntarily return to the UK from the US.He had been mentioned in the notes of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the...

Twenty-five officers from Dorset Police are to be sent to Bristol after disorder broke out in parts of the city on Monday night.

One inspector, three sergeants and 21 police constables will be drafted into the city after a mutual aid request from Avon and Somerset Police.About 150 people are said to have been involved in the trouble in several areas, including in the city centre.Avon and Somerset Police said five arrests were made in the city.More are expected as CCTV is reviewed.Police said the Stokes Croft and St Werburghs...

LONDON RIOTS: BUDGET CUTS ‘NO EXCUSE

TORY politicians accused broadcasters of excusing the violence yesterday by repeatedly bringing up the impact of Government cuts on the rioters.The BBC and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone used what some claimed was an “excuse-heavy narrative”.The BBC focused heavily on the possibility of cuts leading to the explosion of violence.Mr Livingstone also said: “The economic stagnation and cuts imposed...

Retailers must resist exodus from riot hot spots

There has been a simple rule of thumb to rioters’ attacks on shops. If its goods are desirable and portable (shoes, clothes, electrical goods), you nick them. You may even pause to check that your stolen trainers fit. If stock is too heavy to carry (carpets, furniture), you torch the place.Such calculated criminality damages...

photographer was kicked to the ground and beaten by four youths on the Pembury Estate in Hackney on Tuesday, while in Birmingham two photographers were mugged,

Photographers covering the London riots appear to be bearing the brunt of violence against journalists, with several serious incidents of beatings and muggings over the last three days.Photojournalists covering conflict and civil disorder often find themselves in the worst danger, as they have to get close to the story to do...

RBS is planning to lay off thousands of investment bankers over the next eighteen months

RBS is planning to lay off thousands of investment bankers over the next eighteen months as it concludes its integration of ABN Amro.The bank could lay off some 2,000 people by the end of 2012 in its global banking and markets division.But a source told City A.M. that it is not clear exactly where the axe will fall within the business and the final numbers have not yet been decided, so there is unlikely...

Protester Jonathan May-Bowles, 26, was jailed for six weeks at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court today

Mr May-Bowles, 26, pleaded guilty last week to assaulting the 80-year-old media tycoon as he gave evidence to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee about the phone hacking scandal.May-Bowles, also known by his comedy stage name "Jonnie Marbles", disrupted proceedings by launching a paper plate of shaving foam at Mr Murdoch.The incident came towards the end of the media mogul's appearance...

Stuart Kuttner is latest NoW exec to be arrested Former managing editor and one-time public face of the News of the World taken into custody

Stuart Kuttner, the public face of the News of the World and its most vocal public defender for 22 years, has been arrested by police investigating allegations of phone hacking and of bribing police officers to leak sensitive information.As managing editor until his resignation in July 2009, Kuttner was in charge of finances...

IT firm deleted News of the World emails nine times

The India-based enterprise said the requests included wiping more than 200,000 delivery failure messages, pruning old emails from the archives to stop the system crashing, and deleting duplicate emails after users were moved on to new software.In a written response to MPs, HCL said such requests were ‘not at all unusual or untoward’.It did not store any emails or other data for NI but confirmed it...